» Spotlight on Ante Up
For some, playing poker exclusively is their ultimate dream. But for many of us who love the game but don't aspire to poker's highest levels and the sacrifices necessary to achieve them, we look for ways to apply our life skills and experience to carve out a place in the poker world. A perfect example would be the two person team that brings you Ante Up Magazine and Ante Up PokerCast, Scott Long and Chris Cosenza . While they are both the publishers, they divide responsibilities with Chris the editor for the magazine, doing most of the writing and all of the design. He's also the producer of their award-winning weekly Ante Up PokerCast . Scott handles the business side, from advertising sales, marketing and distribution to developing new products and partnerships. (Scott is on the right in the above picture)
Scott says "people are amazed when they learn it's just the two of us because of all we're able to produce. It sounds cliche, but it takes a lot of teamwork, communication and time management. We also have to prioritize tasks daily. I can only imagine where we'd be right now if we had the staff some larger companies do. Every day is a learning process."
Ante Up Magazine is their flagship product, as the largest distributed Florida poker magazine. They are constantly looking for ways to make it even better, from adding new columnists and features to recently launching their first Florida's Choice Awards. They just returned from their first Ante Up Poker Cruise, which was very successful, and they plan another one in March. Scott is excited for future projects as well, "we recently announced a partnership with PokerNews, and are working through all the possibilities that will come with that. And we also have a deal with a television production company and the three largest regional sports TV networks in Florida to produce a Florida poker television show. That's brand new for us, so we're learning as we go."
When asked what a typical day for the Ante Up team is like, Scott answered "Chris and I work separately, but keep in constant communication via instant messaging, email and phone. I usually get working between 7-8 a.m., and Chris burns the midnight oil late into the night, so one of the two of us is usually working at most times of the day. The magazine's schedule drives our schedule, so the week after production is our "idea time" when we talk about new projects and strategize on current ones. The next two weeks are heavy on getting the magazine together, followed by a intense deadline week. Also, every Thursday we produce the pokercast, usually venturing to a local radio station that's a partner to tape the show."
Scott explained the dynamic between the two of them, "we always say that we should copy and share our IMs during the day because they're filled with humor that helps us get through the stressful hours. Chris and I are very different people that share a common dream, which is terrific for an endeavor like ours. It's what made our pokercast so popular - people tune in every week to see what we'll disagree on next."
When the subject turned to balancing work and home, Scott added "We strive as much as we can for a good balance, but our families have been very forgiving in this first year as we've had to put in long hours to make this work. The funny thing is we thought we'd play more poker when we quit our jobs to start a poker magazine, but that hasn't always been the case. We don't have much time to play, outside of Ante Up-sanctioned events, to which we always look forward."
Scott further admits, "I like to tell people that I'm on the clock 24/7. We obviously find time to live our lives, but I keep my BlackBerry on at all times, much to the chagrin of my wife. When you're starting something like we have, you want to be as accessible as you possibly can, especially since we have clients in every corner of the world. The real difference between this and the 9-to-5 jobs we left is that there's ALWAYS something else we can be doing. So deciding when to shut down for the night is always a challenge."
Does that leave much time for playing poker? Scott explains "we'd like to play much more, of course, but I've been able to sneak in some Pot-Limit Omaha/8 tournaments online in the early evening when I'm catching up on email, and I've been known to take magazine proofs to Tampa Bay Downs, the closest live poker room to my house. We play in almost all of the Ante Up Intercontinental Series events we host on PokerStars, and try to play in as many Ante Up Poker Tour events as we can around the state and accept as many invitations from poker room managers as we can realistically handle."
As for time away from work and poker, Scott says "Chris has a large family that's very important to him, and he does a tremendous job of spending time with them. My wife and I love to travel, and we've been able to keep that up, but on a shorter scale. Instead of week long vacations, we take more weekend trips. And, of course, Chris and I travel Florida as much as possible visiting poker rooms. Hobbies? Ha! I'm not sure we have too many outside of poker these days."
Scott also shared his thoughts on the best and worst aspects of being in the poker industry, "the best thing about being in the poker industry is combining our vocation with our passion, especially after a lifetime of working for someone else, doing what they thought was important. We can't put a price tag on how good it feels to get up every morning and dedicate the entire day and night to something related to poker. It's hard to say what the worst thing might be. Poker players are peculiar animals, so trying to corral them into a workable schedule is always a challenge, but it's certainly not an overly daunting one."
Ante Up is clearly Florida's Poker Magazine. They have no designs on going toe-to-toe with the Bluffs or CardPlayers of the world. Florida is a huge poker market, and it's only going to get larger in the next couple of months. They feel there's plenty for them to do there, and they're appreciative of the ownership that state's players, poker rooms and poker leagues have taken in Ante Up and how it's different, and more valuable to them, than our competitors. As for the Ante Up PokerCast, they have differentiated themselves in their approach. They are not pro players. When they talk about situations or hands or news on their show, it's from the perspective of most players - players who play for fun or at least on an amateur level. And their listeners really appreciate that.
Scott Long summarizes his thoughts "we've really enjoyed transforming Ante Up from a magazine publishing company into a diversified poker media company over the past year, and we'll definitely continue to look for new and exciting products to offer our customers and our advertisers - from the cruises to the TV shows. Our partnership with PokerNews will no doubt give us a higher profile, so we'll be looking to continue to grow with that great organization. At the end of the day, if we can give Florida poker players something to be proud of, and put food on our families' kitchen tables, we'll be very happy."
